My parents took me to Walt Disney World for the first time when I was five years old. One of the rides I most vividly remember, now long since gone, was Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride. Based on Disney’s film adaptation of the classic book The Wind in the Willows, you recklessly “drove” an old fashioned (pre-Model T) car through a darkened, decrepit Victorian mansion. Sounds a little cheesy, I know. But for a small tyke in 1973, it was big adventure. The market has felt a little like Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride recently, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average posting… Read More

My parents took me to Walt Disney World for the first time when I was five years old. One of the rides I most vividly remember, now long since gone, was Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride. Based on Disney’s film adaptation of the classic book The Wind in the Willows, you recklessly “drove” an old fashioned (pre-Model T) car through a darkened, decrepit Victorian mansion. Sounds a little cheesy, I know. But for a small tyke in 1973, it was big adventure. The market has felt a little like Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride recently, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average posting its biggest one-day point drop ever at 1,175 points. While that is indeed significant, this chart of the S&P 500 is even more unnerving. Since equities decided to roll over like my 13 year-old yellow lab does when she wants her tummy scratched, investors have experienced a 9.56% drawdown from what appears to be a market top. A wild ride indeed. #-ad_banner-#I’m not going to dive into the nuances of why volatility has suddenly decided to return to the market, but it has — big time. And with any market pullback, opportunities are created to buy great, timely… Read More

It’s official, folks. We’ve got ourselves a good, old fashioned market correction. After losing 1,175 points last Monday, The Dow fell into correction territory on Thursday by crossing a level 10% below its January high. Talk about a crazy week. Now, I still stand by what I said last week. Take a deep breath… and remember that corrections are simply functions of normal, healthy markets. There’s no reason to be gravely concerned about the health of the economy or the global market. Earnings are growing. Taxes are falling. Jobs are plentiful. Wages are even rising a bit. So what’s happening?… Read More

It’s official, folks. We’ve got ourselves a good, old fashioned market correction. After losing 1,175 points last Monday, The Dow fell into correction territory on Thursday by crossing a level 10% below its January high. Talk about a crazy week. Now, I still stand by what I said last week. Take a deep breath… and remember that corrections are simply functions of normal, healthy markets. There’s no reason to be gravely concerned about the health of the economy or the global market. Earnings are growing. Taxes are falling. Jobs are plentiful. Wages are even rising a bit. So what’s happening? —Sponsored Link— ‘Wholesale Crypto’ Method Could Double Your Money In 3 Clicks… What if there was a way to double your money almost instantaneously… In just three clicks, you can buy almost any cryptocurrency at a steep discount. You could double or triple every dollar you invest… You just have to know what currencies to target, and when to target them… So if you’ve ever thought, “it’s too late to get into cryptocurrencies,” then this is a real chance for you to make your millions. Watch the following presentation to learn… Read More

Artificial intelligence and robotics could dramatically transform every industry over the next decade. From increases in productivity to wage savings and minimizing human error, I’m hard-pressed to find another time in history with as much potential for a corporate profits bonanza. It’s impossible to predict all the ways this robo-revolution will affect society, but one thing is certain: The replacement of expensive human workers with their efficient robot counterparts will be a boon to the bottom line. #-ad_banner-#While timelines for widespread adoption in most industries puts this transformation decades out or more, there is one industry that could see massive… Read More

Artificial intelligence and robotics could dramatically transform every industry over the next decade. From increases in productivity to wage savings and minimizing human error, I’m hard-pressed to find another time in history with as much potential for a corporate profits bonanza. It’s impossible to predict all the ways this robo-revolution will affect society, but one thing is certain: The replacement of expensive human workers with their efficient robot counterparts will be a boon to the bottom line. #-ad_banner-#While timelines for widespread adoption in most industries puts this transformation decades out or more, there is one industry that could see massive changes in the next couple of years. In fact, a robot recently drove 2,400 miles to prove it could do the work of a human worker. Robots Are Already Behind The Wheel Of The Largest Big Rigs Embark’s self-driving semi-truck has completed the first cross-country trip from Los Angeles to Jacksonville, Florida. The truck completed the 2,400 mile trip with only rare disengagements that required the driver to take over. Autonomous driving is developing along multiple paths, which could help the tech find a mass-market solution faster. Embark’s technology uses machine learning along with data… Read More

It finally happened. After years of nary a selloff, let alone a significant correction, the floodgates burst open. On Monday, February 5, the Dow Jones Industrial Average suffered a mid-session 1,600 point death plunge. Buyers quickly entered the fray, with the DJIA closing down just 1,175 points, but the day was still the highest single-day point drop in history. Percentage-wise, the decline of 4.6% was the largest since the European debt crisis of 2011. #-ad_banner-#While nowhere near the carnage resulting from Black Monday, 1987 or the U.S. Financial Crisis of 2008, the wild price swings and surging volatility caught many… Read More

It finally happened. After years of nary a selloff, let alone a significant correction, the floodgates burst open. On Monday, February 5, the Dow Jones Industrial Average suffered a mid-session 1,600 point death plunge. Buyers quickly entered the fray, with the DJIA closing down just 1,175 points, but the day was still the highest single-day point drop in history. Percentage-wise, the decline of 4.6% was the largest since the European debt crisis of 2011. #-ad_banner-#While nowhere near the carnage resulting from Black Monday, 1987 or the U.S. Financial Crisis of 2008, the wild price swings and surging volatility caught many investors off guard. Seven-plus years of every small selloff being quickly bought back up lulled investors into a false sense of security. The Volatility Index (VIX), which measures volatility expectations, spiked to nearly 50 during the Monday plunge. This represents the highest percentage gain in the index’s history at 84%, marking the fourth-highest close since its 1990 launch. Other historical VIX spikes include the Russian Ruble crisis of 1998, the credit crisis of 2009, and the 2011 S&P U.S. sovereign credit downgrade. The VIX move is concerning as it may be a harbinger of things to come. Just imagine a… Read More

Look out below. That seems to be the prevailing opinion on Wall Street right now, as the major averages experienced a freefall — the likes of which we haven’t seen in quite some time. The Dow Jones shed more than 1,000 points last week, capped by a painful 666-point slide on Friday. After a brief respite over the weekend, the selling intensified on Monday. —Sponsored Link— This New Digital Currency Is Better Than Bitcoin — And You Can Get It For 95% Less If you’ve ever been turned off by Bitcoin’s eye-gouging price tag, please… Read More

Look out below. That seems to be the prevailing opinion on Wall Street right now, as the major averages experienced a freefall — the likes of which we haven’t seen in quite some time. The Dow Jones shed more than 1,000 points last week, capped by a painful 666-point slide on Friday. After a brief respite over the weekend, the selling intensified on Monday. —Sponsored Link— This New Digital Currency Is Better Than Bitcoin — And You Can Get It For 95% Less If you’ve ever been turned off by Bitcoin’s eye-gouging price tag, please read this urgent message about a much-cheaper “New Bitcoin,” as some are calling it. This new digital currency is cheaper, yet intrinsically more valuable than Bitcoin. That’s why we’re preparing for its price to soar… And it looks as though it has already begun. If you think you missed out on this opportunity, think again. When all was said and done, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1,175.21 points, settling at 24,345.75, among the worst one-day point declines on record. Fortunately, on a percentage basis, the 4.6% pullback isn’t historically severe. Still, from the peak on… Read More

Medical experts fear that the current flu season could be one of the worst in history. Hospitalizations are already well above average, with California victims being hospitalized at four times 2014 levels. To make matters worse, the CDC is estimating that flu vaccines available may only be about 30% effective to the strain this year compared to an average effectiveness of 45% over the last decade. Top it off with the recent announcement that the CDC is planning to cut up to 80% of its epidemic prevention activities around the globe and this could just be… Read More

Medical experts fear that the current flu season could be one of the worst in history. Hospitalizations are already well above average, with California victims being hospitalized at four times 2014 levels. To make matters worse, the CDC is estimating that flu vaccines available may only be about 30% effective to the strain this year compared to an average effectiveness of 45% over the last decade. Top it off with the recent announcement that the CDC is planning to cut up to 80% of its epidemic prevention activities around the globe and this could just be the start of widespread health outbreaks that threaten the United States. #-ad_banner-#Even if you can’t protect yourself from getting the flu this year, you can protect your portfolio with companies that stand to benefit from heightened risk of pandemic contagions. Besides the potential to beat expectations for the fourth quarter of last year and first-quarter results this year, these companies could see higher sales in the future if slashed funding for disease prevention fails to stop more outbreaks. Why This Year’s Flu Is One Of The Worst In History The CDC reports the flu is now widespread in 46… Read More

Fear is coming back. Last Tuesday, the S&P 500 Index closed down by 0.67%. Then… on Wednesday… boom! Another decline. On Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 665 points, or 2.5%. That’s the largest percentage decline since June 2016. But Monday was the worst of all. After a wild ride of a day, the Dow closed down 1,175, the largest single-day point drop in history. So, is the sky falling? —Sponsored Link— Silicon Valley Legend: ‘Every Penny You Put Elsewhere Is Wasted’ He called Bitcoin at $90… Now, this Silicon Valley legend reveals a… Read More

Fear is coming back. Last Tuesday, the S&P 500 Index closed down by 0.67%. Then… on Wednesday… boom! Another decline. On Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 665 points, or 2.5%. That’s the largest percentage decline since June 2016. But Monday was the worst of all. After a wild ride of a day, the Dow closed down 1,175, the largest single-day point drop in history. So, is the sky falling? —Sponsored Link— Silicon Valley Legend: ‘Every Penny You Put Elsewhere Is Wasted’ He called Bitcoin at $90… Now, this Silicon Valley legend reveals a new trick to make up to 5, 7, or even 10 times your money… Whether the price goes up… or down… Full story here. Not quite. It just might feel that way… This is what happens when raging bull markets bordering on irrational exuberance take hold. When markets have charged upwards for weeks… months… years, even — what would normally be viewed as a healthy profit-taking breather is suddenly viewed as if it were Armageddon, leading investors to wonder whether it’s all coming to an end. As Bespoke Investment Group notes: “We’ve… Read More